Antidrip and antisplash device for shower bath doors



E. H. ZECHIEL Aug. 28,1934.

ANTIDRIP AND ANTISPLASH DEVICE FOR SHOWER BATH DOORS Filed Aug. 3, 1933frew se' 41/ 1 J I lNvE-ron EH, ZICH/E1. l

ATTCRNEY Patented Aug. 28, 1934 ANTIDRIP AND ANTIsPLAsn DEVICE FORSHOWER BATH DOORS Eugene H. Zechiel, Los Angeles, Calif. ApplicationAugust s, 1933, Serin No. 683,469

7 Claims.

fstall doors and contemplates thelprovision of an l'attachment for doorsof this general class adapted I to aord protection to the floorof thebathroom outside the shower stall from water splashing unlder the doorwhen the door is closed andthe fshower stall is being used, and alsofrom `water dripping from the door after the `door has been swung toopen positiontextending outwards over 1G the floor of the bathroom.

A more detailed object is to provide a trough or gutter attachment forthe lower edge of a door of the general class indicated, whereby waterrunning down the inner surface of the door will be collected before ithas had opportunity to drip off the door, and conducted toward that edgeof the door with which its hinges are associated, where the Water is.permitted to drip onto the upper and usually sloping surface of the curb29 of the shower stall, the result being that this water is caused toreturn to the shower stall itself instead of being permitted to dripOnto the floor of thebathroom outside the shower stall.

A further object is to soV construct the antidrip device that theamount. of water that it is en- 'abled to conduct toward hinged edge ofther `door iis limited. Consequently, when the door is 'closed vand theshower stall in use, large volumes of water running downthe insidesurface of the door '30 will be returned directly` to the `shower stallinstead of being conducted to the hinged edge of the door. The advantageof this feature is that if a relatively large volume of water were to becarried to the hinged edge of the Vdoor and permitted to flow onto arelatively small area of the upper surface of the shower stall curb,there would be considerable tendency for at least some of the water toflow to the Outside of the curb and hence onto the bathroom iloor; andinasmuch as whenever the door is opened only a relatively small amountof water will Vbe running down the inner surface of the door, there isno need for conducting any but quite small quantities of water towardthe hinged edge of the door.

A further object is to provide as an antisplash feature preferably aplurality of flanges extending downwards from the under'surface of theantidrip trough. These flanges are-spaced apart so as to deflectamaximum amount of water splashing on the upper surface of the showerstall curb and in this manner afford additional protection for the oorof the bathroom outside the shower stall.

A still further object is to provide these antisplash flanges withrelatively thin lower edges,

GII

Cai

'This invention relates to shower bath or shower thereby resisting thetendency for drops of water to collect thereon and cling thereto, butinstead to cause any water impinging against the under surface of theantidrip and antisplash de.- vice to drip therefrom immediately, i. e.,before the door is opened.

VAnother object is to provide an attachment for a shower bath doorhaving the above described characteristics, which not only is a verysimple and hence relatively inexpensive construction, but G51 one whichcan be manufactured and attached in operative relation upon the doorwith the greatest facility and which when so added materially enhancesthe ornamental appearance of the entire door.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some ofwhich, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the followingdescription of the embodiment of my invention which is illustrated inthe drawing accompanying and forming 7.5-

`a part of this specification, It is to be understood that I do notlimit myself to the showing made by the said drawing and description, asI may adopt variations of the described form within the scope of myinvention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view taken through a shower bath doorhaving the antidrip and antisplash device of my invention operativelyinstalled thereupon. The door is illustrated in its closed position andthe curb of the shower stall with which it is associated is indicated inbroken lines. This figure may be considered a sectional view taken uponthe line 1-1 of Figure 2 with the direction of view as indicated.

Figure 2 is a view in elevation of the inner surface of the door.showing the antidrip and antisplash device in operative positionthereupon. Portions of the figure are broken away to reduce its size;

In terms of broad inclusion, the device of the present inventioncomprises means providing a gutter or trough which is adapted to besecured to a shower bath door adjacent the lower edge thereof and uponits inner surface and in position 100 to intercept water running downthe inner surface of the door. The device provides a channel extendingtransversely of the door whereby, owing to the sloping nature of thebottom of the channel, water intercepted by the channel will be con- 105ducted to a side`.edge of the door, preferably the hinged side, theresult being that when the door is open any water running down the innersurface of the door and which would otherwise drip upon the `floor ofYthe bathroom outside the shower 11.0

i mastic material).

stall, will be deposited upon the upper surface of the curb of theshower stall, which slopes inwards in most installations, therebycausing such water to be returned to the inside of the shower stall. Thechannel, however, is of limited depth, the result being that when alarge volume of water runs down the inner surface of the door, as whenthe door is closed and the shower stall in use, this large volume ofwater will ilow over the curb which defines the inner edge of thechannel and hence return immediately to the shower stall without beingconducted to a side edge of the door. The device is further providedwith antisplash flanges, spaced apart 'and 'extending downfwards fromthe under surface of the channel. When the door is closedthese channelsare .in such position with respect to the upper surface of the curb ofthe shower stall that the tendency 'for water to splash upon the uppersurface of the shower stall curb and hence to the exterior of the showerstall is reduced to a minimum. Moreover, these ilanges have relativelythin lower edges, which reduces to a minimiun the tendency for drops ofwater to cling thereto.

Proceeding'now with a more particular descrip'- tion of the device of myinvention, .I have illustrated that embodiment of my antidrip and-antisplash device which may be considered as pre- .ferred, as beingoperatively installed upon the inner surface v6 of a shower door 7adjacent the lower edg'ethereof These doors are usually constructed 'ofside Arnouldings 9,a bottom moulding 11 and atop moulding (not shown)and the bottom moulding 1l affords convenient means for attaching theantidrip and antisplash device,which is indicated in its entirety at.12, in opera-tive position upon the vdoor 7. In 'the usual shower bathdoor construction, the mouldings 9 and 11 serve as a support for a panel13, which usually is of glass. glass panel 13 should be cushioned fromthe mouldings 9 'and 1.1, which usually are of metal, such brass oraluminum, as by la strip 'of resilient an'dpreferably fibrous matter 14such as cotton wicking and by gir-outing 16 of suitable Doors of 'thisgeneral character are usually supported, Aas by'any convenient type of`hinge .17, in such position that when closed it is .disposed 'atsuitable elevation above the upper surface 1'8 of a curb 19 'whichextends upwards from the floor 21 of the bathroom and the floor '2'2 'ofthe shower stall. Preferably, the upper-surface 'or sill 1'8 'of thecurb 119 slopes inwards towards the shower stall 22 'so that any water'de- .posited thereupon will be returned to the shower stall. The hinge17 is usually so arranged that the door swings outward to open position,where it extends 'over the floor 21 of the bathroom 'in stead of'exten-ding inwards over the floor T22 oi the shower stall.

That embodiment of my anti-drip and :antisplash device which. has beenVused for illustration comprises `an elongated strip 26 so shaped thatits upper surface presents a channel or trough V27 fox-tending'transversely with respect to the doorv 7. This strip 26 is preferablyAof the saine Imetal -as the door mouldings, its Aprincipal roquirementbeing, zhowever, :that it be possessed of ithe necessary :inherentstrength and tendency to -resist 'deterioration by corrosion the like;and it Tis preferably suitably `Aplated, 4as by nickel orfch'romiuim soyas to protect it further against deterioration Vand also -to 'impart toit the desired ornamental-appearance to vcause it to ,harmonizesatisfactorily 'with the .material of lwhich the reymainderuif the* door..7 .is composed. `An Aattaching flange 28 extends upwards from thatedge of the trough or channel which is to be secured to the door 7; andthis flange 28 is preferably reversely bent upon itself to provide adouble thickness of material through which the screws 29 used forattaching the device in operative po sition can extend. These screws arepreferably threaded into the flower moulding 11, las clearly shown uponnFigure u1. The flange 28 is preferably formed higher at one end 31 thanat the other end 32, the result being that when the device is 'attachedto the door 7 with the upper edge of the ilange 28 disposedhorizontally, the bottom 33 "of the trough 'will slope downwards fromthe 'en'd`32 tothe end 31, as best shown upon Figure r2. In order toaccommodate both right and left hand doors, it is therefore desirable toprovide two 'forms of the Adevice, one where the slope is from right toleft and the other where the slope is from left to right.

Another flange vor curb 36 extends upwards .from that edge of the bottom33 of the channel 27 which is `opposite the iange y28; and the partsrare so Varranged that the vbottom 33 slopes .not

only from one edge to the yother of the door, but

it also slopes downwards and away from the door, i. e., towards thevcurb 36, as clearly shown upon rligure 1. Moreover, the curb 36 .isrelatively low Yand instead of rising vabruptly from the bottom 33 ofthe channel 27, curves gradually upwards and outwards therefrom, theresult being that when any large volume Yof water rushes down the innersurface of the door 7 and into the channel 27 it will flow over the curb36 and hence directlly onto the upper surface 13 of the curb 19 and'into the stall 22. However, when `any small quantity of water runsfdown the inner surface of the door 7 and thence .into ythe channel 27.such, for example, as the relatively small amount of water in a form of'drops which -cling to the door after the shower has 'been in use andthe door swung open, it will find sufficient obstrucu tion to itsmovement transversely with respect to the channel .27 when itlencounters the curb 36, and hence will Abe caused to .run downwardsalong the bottoni 33 of the rchannel 27 toward the .lower end 31; i. e.,toward the hinged edge cf the door, where it is permitted to :drop uponthe upper surface of the curb 18, .regardless of whether the door isopen or closed. The reason for so constructing the santidrip device thatrelatively large volumes of water such as ordinarily run down the innersurface in a substantially continuous flow when the shower is in use,will notbe conducted to a side edge of the door is that this would causesuch a large volume of water `to be deposited in a relatively small areaupon the upper surface of the curb .18 that at least a portion 'of itwould tend `to flow upward upon the sloping upper surface .113 andVtl'lence down the vouter surface of the curb 'i9 and onto the floor 21of the bathroom, whereas, if the relatively large volume of water whichis apt to run down vthe inner surface of the Vdoor when the shower isbeing used Yis distributed through-- out the entire length of the curb'19, this tendency for the water to rush up the surface 18 and onto thefloor of the bathroom is overcome.

The Yantisplash feature of the device of my invention is attainedthrough the expedient of a plurality, preferably two, flanges 41 and 42,eX- tending downwards from the under surface of the trough and spaced amaterial distance 'from each other, as clearly shown upon Figure l1. Theflange 41 can most conveniently be .formed by extending the outer edgeof the metal forming the curb 36 far enough for it to project a materialdistance below the botto-m 33 of the trough or channel 27. The flange42, however, is preferably provided by means of an additional strip 43of metal, the upper edge of which is clamped between the two opposedportions of the reversely bent flange 28. Both these flanges 4l and 42extend preferably throughout the entire length of the trough, i. e.,substantially throughout the entire width of the door '7. Moreover, theparts are so proportioned and arranged that the lower edges of bothflanges 41 and 42 are in substan tially horizontal alinement' andpreferably not more than an eighth or a quarter of an inch higher thanthe highest point of the curb 19 of the shower stall. The fact that thetwo flanges 41 and 42 are spacedra material distance from each otherreduces to a minimum any tendency for waterV to splash to the outside ofthe shower stall by passing under the flange 4l, impinging' against theupper surface 1S of the flange 19, and splashing upwards and outwardsfrom the point of impingement. Moreover, the lower edges of both flanges41 and 42 are quite thin, the purpose being to reduce to an absoluteminimum any tendency for drops of water to cling thereto by capillaryattraction, and in this manner cause such drops of water to dropimmediately onto the upper surface of the curb 19 and not to wait untilthe door has been swung open before they drop from the under surface ofthe door or from the under surface of the antidrip device. It ispreferred that the extreme lower edge of the flange 42 be deilectedoutward slightly, as is best shown upon Figure 1. A

It is preferred that the moulding l1 employed inrconjunction with theantidrip and antisplash device be provided with a shoulder 46 againstwhich the extreme edge of the fiange 2S may rest, thereby insuring thatthe proper pitch will be imparted to the bottom 33 of the channel 27.Moreover, I prefer that a suitable grouting of any satisfactory masticmaterial 47 be interposed between the ila-nge 28 and the moulding 1l, towhich it is attached. Y

I claim:

1. An antidrip device for a shower bath door, comprising a trough, meansfor attaching said trough along one edge thereof to a shower bath doorin operative position thereon, the bottom of said trough slopingdownwards away from said attaching means, and `also sloping with respectto itslength, and a curb extending upwards from the bottom of saidtrough along the other edge thereof, said curb being low and'curvinggradually upwards from said bottom to pass large volumes of water overthe curb but being adapted to deflect small volumes to flow along thebottom of the trough to an end thereof.

2. An antidrip and antisplash device for a shower door, comprising atrough secured to said door adjacent the lower end thereof and adaptedto conduct water therealong toward a side edge i of the door, and asplash deflector extending downwards from said trough.

3. An antidrip and antisplash device for a shower door disposed over asloping sill when closed, comprising a trough secured to said dooradjacent the lower end thereof and adapted to conduct water therealongtoward a side edge of the door, and a plurality of spaced splashdeflectors extending downwards from said trough, both of said deiiectorsbeing disposed over said sill when the door is closed.

4. An antidrip and antisplash Vdevice for a shower door disposed over asloping sill when closed, comprising a trough secured to said dooradjacent the lower end thereof and adapted to conduct water therealongtoward a side edge of the door, and a flange extending downwards fromadjacent each lateral edge of said trough, both of said flanges beingdisposed over said sill when the door is closed, said flanges beingspaced from each other to deflect a maximum amount of splash.

5. An antidrip and antisplash device for a shower door disposed over asloping sill when closed, comprising a trough secured to said dooradjacent the lower end thereof and adapted to conduct water therealongtoward a side edge of the door, and a flange extending downwards fromadjacent each lateral edge of said trough, both of said flanges beingdisposed over said sill when the door is closed, said fiangesheingspaced from each other to deflect a maximum amount of splash, and eachpresenting a thin bottom edge to reduce the tendency for drops of waterto cling thereto.

6. An antidrip and antisplash device for a shower bath door, comprisinga trough, means for attaching said trough to a shower bath door inoperative position thereon, the bottom of said trough sloping downwardsaway from said attaching means and also sloping with respect to itslength, a curb extending upwards from the bottom of said trough along anedge thereof spaced from said door, said curb being low and curvinggradually upwards from said bottom to pass large volumes of water overthe curb but being adapted to deflect small volumes to flow along thebottom of the trough to end thereof, and a splash deilector extendingdownwards from said trough.

7. An antidrip and antisplash device for a shower bath door, comprisinga trough, means for attaching said trough to a shower bath door inoperative position thereon, the bottom of said trough sloping downwardsaway from said attaching means and also sloping with respect to itslength, a curb extending upwards from the bottom of said trough along anedge thereof spaced from said door, said curb being low and curvinggradually upwards from said bottom to pass large volumes of water overthe curb but being adapted to deflect small volumes to iiow along thebottom of the trough to an end thereof, and a ange extending downwardsfrom adjacent each lateral edge of said trough, said Iianges beingspaced from each other to deflect a maximum amount of splash andpresenting thin bottom edges to reduce the tendency for drops of waterto cling thereto.

EUGENE H. ZECHIEL.

